Originally Posted by
Krautwald
Before aviation took the Covid nosedive, the general attitude seemed to be "if you really want it, have the means and are flexible, you will be able to fly for a living". Also people at 40yo and older were getting this type of response a lot.
Itīs remarkable that this has flipped almost 180 degrees. Lots of discouraging replies to the older wannabes lately. This is not to say that they are not justified; could be entirely correct. I just noticed how the whole outlook has changed. Itīs sad really. I liked those years when openness to biographical change had become such a normalcy (not only in terms of career).
Are you reading the posts?
There is a big difference to start at 40 or 50.
"if you really want it" vs reality, you choose what you want to hear many times. And of course Covid changed a lot, many peoples career progress stopped / paused, and these are now all delayed 3 - 4 years in the career progress. It does seem much of the "backlog" is being cleared up, but those who had their training postponed in 2020, are now having it completed and getting into many of they jobs they were promised.
If you want it presented with rose tinted glasses, great, but don't cry after you spent Ģ100K and you are in your mid 50's, and the best job you can get is FI job making Ģ20K a year.
If you are starting in your 50's, be real of what you possibly can achieve, early 40's and you have the means, sure go for it.
There are people coming on here in their mid 30's thinking they are old to start, which they are not. The "to old" becomes relevant once you have rounded 45 - 50 and have still not got hours, medical or any ratings. At that stage it becomes a gamble, and if you do it at least try those dreaded schools who gets you straight into a job when your training has been completed.
I know in the UK recently there were a few companies recruiting FO's, they all wanted type rated FO's with hours on type, I know because I have friends who have thousands of hours but on the wrong type, and they could not apply. The backlog is huge, and there are many very qualified pilots who are waiting to fil those jobs.
Who would the airline hire? A 50 year old with 10.000 hours on business jets, or a 50 year old with Zero hours and no TR?
I would say the situation at the moment is not that companies are not hiring, but they like their "sausage factory" cadets, who gets trained and mentored like they want them. They will arrive at fairly high standard, be happy to accept substandard conditions for 4 - 5 years while they gain experience. I myself went modular, but recently I have not seen many modular students been hired, as they simply don't qualify to even apply.
Maybe RYR and Wizz do, but heavy competition to get in, and RYR are definitely an ageist company once you have passed 40.
If you can accept to have no expectations of getting any well paid job after your Ģ100K investment, then go for it. (if you are over 50)